Dress-shield.



No. 706,802. Patented Aug. l2, |002.

E. M. cowLss. DRESS SHIELD.

(No Mqdel.)

me Noam: Eriks su., PNuYo-Llruo., WASHINGTON. o. c,

EMMA M. COVLES, OF MILVAUKEE, IVISCONSIN.

DRESS-SHIELD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters :Patent No. 706,802, dated August 12, 1902.

Application filed February 16,1901. Serial No. 47,644. No model.)

To all whom t may concern,.-

Beit known that I, EMMAM. COWLES, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dress-Shields; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention has reference to shields placed in dresses, as beneath the arms ofthe wearer, to protect the garments; and it consists in certain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts, as will be fully set forth hereinafter in combination with the accompan ying drawings and subsequently claimed.

In the said drawings, Figure lis a perspective view of the shield with its removable cover and devices for fastening the same to the dress and its sleeve, portions being shown as broken away at different points to better illustrate certain details of construction. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. l.

Referring to the drawings, A A represent the folded sheet of india-rubber of the form customary in this class of articles, and B B the folded outer covering, preferably of soft muslin. This latter may be of either one thickness of cloth or be doubled, as best shown in Fig. 2, as preferred; but in either case the cover B Bis entirely removable from the rubber A A, which latter is bound with a strip of fabric C, secured thereto bya line of stitching Vc and having transversely-disposed buttonholes or eyelets D D at intervals therethrough. The coverB B when made double has the meeting edges of theouter pieces turned in and stitched, as indicated at d in Fig. 2, and the meeting edges of its inner pieces likewise turned in and stitched, as indicated at e in the same figure, (in which I have distinguished by marking said inner pieces B B,) the seams thereby formed being at the upper or concave line of the said cover, and the outer convex edges of the cover being formed with a hem, as indicated by the lines of stitching marked b, which hem is provided with transversely-disposed buttonholes or eyelets E E at intervals corresponding to the described holes or eyelets D D in the rubber A A.

F F represent fastening devices, which in the illustration given are tapes or ribbons,

which are to be stitched to the inner surface of the dress and sleeves to be protected and afterward passed through the described holes or eyelets D D and E E and tied, as shown. I have not deemed it necessary to illustrate the waist and sleeves of a dress, as it will be readily understood by all users of my device just where and how the tapes or ribbons are to be stitched thereto, and while I prefer to use such on account of their flexibility I do not limit myself to any particular form of fastening devices.

By the use of myinvention the cloth cover can be readily and quickly removed from the rubber portion of the dress-shield and properly laundered when necessary and replaced,

which is a great advantage, as ordinary washing has an injurious eect on the thin rubber sheets, and therefore the longevity and use` fulness of the rubber is greatly extended and the cover readily kept in a clean and perfect condition. It will further be understood that in place of the described hem the outer or convex edges of the cover B B may be bound and the described holes or eyelets E F. formed in any suitable manner in said binding.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A dress-shield comprising a fabric cover and a removable rubber lining of equal area, and both provided with hems or bindings having coinciding eyelets, in combination with fastening devices for temporarily .securing the cover and lining together.

2. A dress-shield, comprising a fabric cover having holes or eyelets in its edge, in combination with a folded sheet of rubber, provided with a binding formed with holes or eyelets therein at intervals corresponding to those in said cover and registering therewith, and a `series of tapes or ribbons for holding the cover and rubber together, and for attaching same to a dress and its sleeves. Y 3. A dress-shield comprising a folded fabric cover, made double, of two pairs of similarly- IOO removably attaching the same to a dress and its sleeves.

In testimony that I ClaimA the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand, at Milwaukee, in 15 the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, in the presence of two Witnesses.

EMMA M. COWLES.

Witnesses:

I-I. G. UNDERWooD, B. C. RoLoFF. 

